PROFILE
Bob Amster
Principal, Retail Technology GroupMr. Amster has served the retail and distribution industries as both a Consultant and Systems Manager since 1971. He currently heads The Retail Technology Group, an independent consulting firm.
Bob was a Senior Manager with the Northeast Retail Consulting Group of Ernst & Young. Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Amster held Systems Management positions for large retailers such as Kmart Apparel, Waldenbooks, and Caldor. In addition, he has consulted to retail, distribution, and software companies since 1985.
Bob’s hands-on experience encompasses strategic planning; operational reviews; and systems design and implementation. He specializes in needs assessments; software analyses, selection and implementation; operational procedures and process improvement; and systems integration. His project experience includes numerous engagements in the evaluation, selection and implementation of merchandising, financial, warehouse and store systems packages.
Additionally, Bob has served as interim head of IT for Barneys New York and Shane Company, and as interim head of the Store Systems Group for Savers, Inc.
Bob also has provided due diligence assistance to a number of private equity firms and has served the advisory board of retailers and of a number of e-commerce merchants, to whom he provided retail industry perspective.
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- Posted on: 04/12/2018
Is product discovery now the biggest pain point for mobile buys?
I see we're still having fun with this one... - Posted on: 04/12/2018
Is product discovery now the biggest pain point for mobile buys?
Columbus wasn't looking for, but stumbled onto America. That's like me searching for a TV and winding up buying a pair of slacks. It was Amerigo Vespucci who figured out what Columbus had really done (discovered a new continent). That IS funny. - Posted on: 04/12/2018
Is product discovery now the biggest pain point for mobile buys?
My reply came in late, but you can see that we're on the same wave length (or farther away from the much younger generation)... - Posted on: 04/12/2018
Is product discovery now the biggest pain point for mobile buys?
One can’t compare selecting movies from Netflix to finding a dress somewhere online. AI and machine learning will work in specific destinations, where the customer may have a true purchase history. The next question is: why do I want to buy a dress while I am on my phone? I could see buying last-minute theater tickets while I am on my smartphone. Certain online purchase excursions are much easier done from a desktop or tablet (because of the bigger screen, for one). - Posted on: 04/10/2018
Can Nordstrom’s full-line men’s store make it in Manhattan?
Deliver the service for which the retailer is already known while selling expensive products of high perceived value. The assortment can't be moderately priced because of the high cost of doing business, but the customer will have to be willing to pay the price. - Posted on: 04/10/2018
Barnes & Noble’s crowdsourcing app engages readers and earns solid reviews
Insofar as more of the retail business is taking on an experiential emphasis, the app should generate interest in Barnes & Noble. While it appears that the app does not really guarantee that the readers will purchase from Barnes & Noble, it may create some loyalty to the brand and drive some purchases in its direction. - Posted on: 04/06/2018
Can MoviePass help revive America’s malls?
That joke IS an oldie but a goodie! - Posted on: 04/06/2018
Can MoviePass help revive America’s malls?
"Significant" is an intangible. MoviePass will have a positive impact on movie attendance and on mall traffic. The company has to stay in business long enough to prove it. And they will have to prove their impact if they expect theaters and malls to cut revenue-sharing deals. This one falls under wait and see. - Posted on: 04/05/2018
Retailers push to onboard tech talent
I think we are not on opposites of the camp here. The fine distinction I make is between hiring many technologists to build one's own, or buying the technology and using it. We clearly agree that the retail industry can not ignore or forego the use of technology. My concern is, and has been, employing tons of people to develop what technology the commercial marketplace also can develop; possibly cheaper and of a longer life. - Posted on: 04/05/2018
Retailers push to onboard tech talent
The question is a little like asking: "Are retailers in the software development and technology business, or are they in the business of buying and selling products?" It is conceivable that the retailers that are so actively recruiting are doing so because they are developing their own solutions and feel that this is a must because what they want is not commercially available yet, and so they rush to beat their competition by staffing and developing. The inevitable situation arises that, eventually, the commercial technology marketplace is able to develop faster, for more customers, and stay abreast of the evolving technology in a way that is very difficult for a few retail businesses to do, and impossible for most. There are voices for both camps. - Posted on: 04/04/2018
Should retailers lower expectations around last-mile delivery?
Tough answer. Realistically, few of us need two-hour delivery of shoes or a sweater (medicine and pizza, yes). Lowering the bar, if it could be done subtlety and over time, won't hurt but it will be cheaper. - Posted on: 04/04/2018
Bed Bath & Beyond offers an exchange for Toys ‘R’ Us gift cards
Any time you can increase traffic to your stores, it's a good thing. Any time you can do that and add good will, you're doing a good thing better! - Posted on: 03/29/2018
Research ties regular shift schedules to higher retail sales
Since most retailers have the tools to study the ebb and flow of customer traffic (by month of year, by day of week and time of day), it is not difficult to generate predictable schedules. I concur with my colleagues that employees are happier if they can plan their personal and work life reliably, and that happy employees generate more enthusiasm and sales. There may never be an optimal staffing formula except in environments in which retailers employ large numbers of associates in multiple departments and may be able to shuffle people among the departments that need them the most. - Posted on: 03/27/2018
Where is the shopping opportunity with voice commerce?
I agree totally on the "quality of the AI" and "the layers of menus." You answer one of those incorrectly, and you're back to square one. - Posted on: 03/27/2018
Where is the shopping opportunity with voice commerce?
Voice commerce won't "drive purchases." But it will become a qualified norm for purchases of certain product categories from one's home. The question is whether or not voice commerce has a place in the store. For example, a grocery store's mobile app could enable the consumer to ask where to find a specific product, a general category of products or the price of a product, before starting to search for the product itself inside 20,000 square feet of aisles. I know it would help me.
